Windows is out to become an AV king

MKV support is to be added to the Developer Preview of Windows 10, alongside several other enthusiast file formats.

Microsoft's Gabriel Aul confirmed on Twitter MKV support will be baked-into the upcoming Windows platform after it was spotted in the Windows 10 9860 pre-release build.

MKV is a highly effective but contentious container for video files – contentious because it's commonly used to distribute pirated material online. While often referred to as a codec, MKV is actually merely a format that contains content rendered using other codecs, often H.264.

More support than you can shake a stick at

It's great news if this is to head over to the version of Windows 10 we'll eventually see in phones – video support in Windows 8.1 is fairly limited.

MKV is just one of several file formats that will be supported by Windows 10 from day one. Others include FLAC and HEVC.

Again, FLAC support would be great news for Windows 10 phones, making any Windows mobile a potential hi-res audio player. FLAC is a lossless audio format that offers quality lossy formats like MP3 and AAC just can't touch.

HEVC is a video format seen as the successor to H.264, and gets you 4K video with a much more manageable file size.

Current laptops and desktops can add support for these file formats with plugins, but having native support takes the headache element out, and is great news for any less flexible mobile Windows 10 devices of the future.